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Fantain's Take : India - Pakistan Contest

The very words ‘India-Pakistan Match’ can bring out very strong and deep emotions amongst cricket fans. Even people who are neither from India nor Pakistan can feel the tension and the excitement. While the rivalry is palpable, there is a very nice snap of a Pakistan Bowler helping an Indian Batsman with his batting gear that gives another view. When Yuvraj Singh checked on Wahab Riaz while he winced in pain after twisting his ankle, a lot of hearts were touched.

Having said that, the match did see a lot of action and fire. It was a day of rain and shine. The match was interrupted and eventually shortened. The 24,156 fans who made this the highest ever attended One Day International at Edgbaston ever witnessed the fury that the Indian Batsmen unleashed on their arch-rivals. The top four Indian Batsmen hit fifties to begin with. This is only the 14th such occasion in the history of ODI.

It was not at all disappointing to one who came to see some good batting. It was pure carnage. India did everything right when it mattered. All correct boxes checked. The noise that came from the Indian Fans in the stadium was deafening. They got what they came for. The openers clicked, and the batsmen who followed kept the momentum going. The run rates soared. Rohit Sharma’s 91 off 119 balls was matched with Yuvraj Singh’s flawlessly timed 53. His half-century came off only 29 balls. The dropped catch, comical as it was, seemed to have given him the push and it will continue to haunt Pakistan for a while.

By the time Pakistan came to bat, the skies had cleared. Their revised target of 289 in 41 overs was still a mammoth task. When Pakistan clicks, it is a majestic sight. When the top batsmen falter, the entire lineup more often than not collapses. And that was inevitable. The dropped catch by Kedar Jadhav did not even seem to matter in the end. India won comfortably by 124 runs. The hugely anticipated contest was mostly one-sided.

India not only has 2 points on the board, they lead with a run rate of +3.02. This run rate will matter because of the unpredictable weather. If matches are rained out in the future, it will all boil down to this number.

Indu

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